BOOK TRADE (cinte). The book trade in the United States is of comparatively recent growth. although printing was introduced into New York as early as 1683. For scholars and libraries the needed books were imported from Europe, but with tile spread of newspapers and the development of education, the increasing demand for books offered to publishers a profit from the reproduction of the best works of English litera ture. The oldest house in the trade is that of Sower, Potts & Co., whose founder, Christopher Saur, sr., made almanacs and German Bibles, near Philadelphia, in 1740. The hook production of this country was estimated, in 1820, to amount to only $2,500.000, of which about 30 per cent were original American hooks; for 1830, 1:.,43€0,000. 40 per cent American; for 1840, $5,500,000, or 12,000,000 volumes, 55 per cent American; for 1830, $12,300,000, 70 per cent American; for 1856, $16,000,000, 80 per cent Ameri can. These statistics are only estimated, but it shows that the proportion of original American books has steadily increased. The production of books in 1871 was estimated at $40,000,000; 5632 American books were entered for copyright in 1E78, and 6580 in 1879; during 1879, the copyright of 5264 of these was perfected by depositing copies in the library of congress as required by law. The trade is usually classified into three divisions—publishine. jobbing. and retailing; but although there are a great number of persons who sell boas and periodicals in connectien with some other business, there arc probably not more than 3000 regular bookstores. About 900 names are given in the can Ciital(wre of those who publish occasionally, but time tenths of the trade is carried on by about 50 publishers. The " subscription publishers" sell their books through agents and canvassers. Publishers of educational books form a special class, although some of the prominent houses, like Scribner, Appleton, and the Harpers, have educational depart ments in their business. The "jobber' is the middleman, who orders books in large quantities from the publisher, and distributes them among the retail booksellers through out the country. Many of the larger houses, like Lippineot, combine the business of the publisher, jobber, and retailer; while others, like Houghton, & Co.,confine them selves to the sale of their own publications. Every spring and fall there is a "trade sale" in New York. at which large numbers of new publications and standard books are sold to the highest bidders among the jobbe'rs and retailers represented at the sales. The American publishers generally allow the retailers from 25 to 40 per cent, and the jobbers 5 per cent more. The usual forms for books published in this country are 12mo for novels,
books of poetry, etc., and 8vo for books of travel, treatises, etc. It is customary among publishers to allow the author of a book a "copyright" payment of 10 per cent on the retail price for all sales; but a gross sum is frequently paid to the author, and the book then becomes the sole property of the publisher. The copyright of a book is granted for 28 years, with the privilege of renewal, by the author, his widow, or children, for 14 years more. A copy of the title-page must be registered in the office of the librarian of congress at Washington before publication, and two copies of the best edition must be sent to the same office within 10 days after publication. The fees are 50 cts. for recording entry, and 50 cts. for each copy of record; there is no other expense. This fee does not, as in the case of patents. cover any investigation into the validity of the copyright, the librarian of congress being only a registering and in no sense a judicial officer. The most 'noteworthy attempt to supply the American book-trade with a bibliography was made in the Bibliotheca Americana of Roorbach, a catalogue of publications including American issues from 1S20, continued by Kelly, in supplements, to 1871; this is now superseded, for current books, by the American Catalogue, issued under the direction of F. Leypoldt, containing entries of all books (including imported editions) iu print and for sale iu this country July 1, 1876. The first volume, now issued, includes the alpha bet by authors and titles, covering about 70,000 entries; the second, in preparation. gives the same books under subject-entries. The trade periodicals are the Publishers' Weekly, New York, which was begun as the Weekly Trade Circular in 1872, by F. Leypoldt, and which afterwards absorbed Child's Publishers' Circular, founded in 1852; and the Ameri can Bookseller, published fortnightly by' the American News Co. The Publishers' Weekly is especially valuable for its weekly record of current publications, giving full titles, prices, and other information, entered in accordance with the cataloguing system of the American literary association, and furnished with appended descriptive notes, giving briefly the scope, character, and contents of the books. The American Bookseller, besides records of new books, includes monthly useful index, classified by subjects, of the prominent articles in the periodicals of the month.